16 books for 16 years of blogging

Sometime this week marks the 16th birthday of this blog. (I’m not sure of the definite date, only that it was the first week of March 2004.)

To celebrate the occasion I thought I’d create a special list, choosing an influential book for every year I’ve been blogging.

Each of the 16 books I have chosen left a lasting impression on me in some way, either by taking me into new reading territory or introducing me to a new favourite author.

Without further ado, here is my list arranged in chronological order beginning with 2004.

Year: 2004Book:‘Towards the end of the Morning’ by Michael FraynWhat it is about: A comedy of manners featuring two Fleet Street journalists in the 1960s who spend most of their time in the pub wishing they could break into the more lucrative business of television reporting.How it influenced me: It opened my eyes to a whole new “genre” of books about newspaper journalists. I’ve read quite a few since then and have a list of my favourite 10 here.

Year: 2005Book: ‘Three to see the King’ by Magnus MillsWhat it is about: An allegory exploring whether the grass is greener on the other side.How it influenced me: Reading this strange, quirky book turned me into a lifelong Magnus Mills fan. I’ve read all of his novels since then. You can read those reviews here.

Year: 2006Book: ‘The Barracks’ by John McGahernWhat it is about: A former nurse in war-torn London returns to rural Ireland, where she marries a policeman much older than herself and becomes stepmother to three children. When she develops breast cancer, she hides the diagnosis from everyone bar the local priest.How it influenced me: After reading this book it made such an impression on me I went out and bought McGahern’s entire back catalogue. That same year I read two more by him. He promptly became my favourite writer. I even went to County Leitrim, where McGahern was from, to hunt out haunts mentioned in his novels and his memoir.

Year: 2007Book: ‘The Blackwater Lightship’ by Colm ToibinWhat it is about: Three generations of Irishwomen, estranged for years, reluctantly join forces to look after one of their own who has a serious life-threatening illness.How it influenced me: It turned me into a life-long Toibin fan and I’m slowly but surely making my way through his backlist. This is what I have reviewed so far.

Year: 2008
Book:‘Tarry Flynn’ by Patrick KavanaghWhat it is about: This is a joyous bittersweet novel about a bachelor farmer in rural Ireland in the 1930s.How it influenced me: It opened my eye to the concept of “rural novels”, especially ones about farming, which I have sought out ever since.

Year: 2009Book:‘The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea’ by Randolph StowWhat it is about: A gentle coming-of-age story set in Geraldton, Western Australia during the Second World War.How it influenced me: I loved this book so much I actually read it twice in a year. It also made me want to read his entire back catalogue, but at the time most of it was out of print. Fortunately, Text Classics has since rectified this and I have them all lying in wait.

Year: 2012Book: ‘Plainsong’ by Kent HarufWhat it is about: Set in rural Colorado in the 1980s, this gorgeously bittersweet story follows the trials and tribulations of a handful of diverse but interesting characters, including two old bachelor brothers, who run a farm and take in a pregnant teenager kicked out of home.How it influenced me: This book rocketed straight into my all-time favourite reads. I loved its rural setting (see Tarry Flynn above) and its eccentric, warm-hearted characters, but most of all I loved the eloquent and elegant prose style. I have since read all of Haruf’s backlist. Sadly, his death a few years ago means there’s no more left for me to read.

Year: 2013Book:‘Of Human Bondage’ by W. Somerset Maugham [not reviewed]What it is about: This doorstep of a novel follows the life and times of an orphan with a club foot who is raised by a strict and religious uncle in the English provinces, but flees, first to Germany, then to Paris, before settling in London to study medicine. It’s a profoundly moving book because it shows what happens to people when there is no welfare state. I loved this book so much I couldn’t bring myself to review it.How it influenced me: Since reading this book, I’ve been happily working my way through W. Somerset Maugham’s backlist. This is what I have reviewed so far.

Year: 2014Book:‘Black and Proud: The Story of an Iconic AFL Photo’ by Matthew Klugman and Gary Osmond [not reviewed]What it is about: This award-winning book examines racism in sport. It charts the story behind the image that is on its front cover — Aboriginal Australian AFL footballer Nicky Winmar pointing to his chest declaring he was “proud to be black” after enduring racist abuse during a football match on 17 April 1993 — and puts it into the wider context of Australian society.How it influenced me: I’m not a football fan, but this book proved to be a compelling account of an important issue. I read Anna Krien’s Night Games: Sex, Power and Sport, which is about rape culture in the AFL world, at around the same time and it was equally as compelling. But the Winmar story was the one that sent me off on a new journey exploring indigenous issues, including Stan Grant’s Talking to My Country and Cal Flynn’s Thicker Than Water: History, Secrets and Guilt: A Memoir.

Year: 2015Book: ‘The Good Doctor’ by Damon Galgut
What it is about: Set in post-apartheid South Africa, this is the story of two doctors working in a deserted rural hospital who must share lodgings. It is a fascinating portrait of male friendship amid huge societal changes as the “new” South Africa shakes off its dark history.How it influenced me: This book, with its effortless, dreamy prose, turned me into a Galgut fan. I’ve read four more novels by him since reading this one.

Year: 2016Book:‘Walking Free’ by Dr Munjed Al Muderis (with Patrick Weaver)What it is about: The true-life story of an Iranian refugee who was held in Curtin Immigration Detention Centre in the remote Kimberly region of Western Australia. After surviving this hellhole for 10 months, he eventually gained his freedom. He is now one of the world’s leading specialists in osseointegration in which prosthetic limbs are implanted and fused into bone Terminator style.How it influenced me: This book opened my eyes to Australia’s shameful and inhumane policy of detention for refugees and asylum seekers, and made me more conscious of the issues facing those people seeking new lives against the odds.

Year: 2017Book:‘Down in the City’ by Elizabeth HarrowerWhat it is about: Set in Sydney one hot summer, it tells the story of an abusive marriage between two people from opposite ends of the social spectrum.How it influenced me: Even though I’d read two books by Harrower before, this was the one that made me sit up and pay attention. Her ability to evoke atmosphere and to capture the inner-most workings of the human soul are just brilliant. I am on a mission to read all of Harrower’s work. This is what I’ve read so far.

Year: 2018Book:‘Lie With Me’ by Sabine DurrantWhat it is about: This book nicely fits into the “holidays from hell” genre. It’s a psychological thriller set on a Greek island but is told from the perspective of a nasty, conniving narrator who you are never quite sure whether to trust.How it influenced me: I always like a good psychological-thriller-come-page-turner and it’s such a relief to find a new author who you can rely on to offer up a great story. I have since read several more by this author.

Year: 2019Book: ‘The Old Boys’ by William TrevorWhat it is about: This is a black comedy about four septuagenarians who all went to boarding school together more than 50 years earlier and behave very much as you would expect a group of immature schoolboys to behave — badly! They connive, cheat and backstab each other, all in an outlandish bid to establish who is “top dog”.How it influenced me: I had previously read quite a bit of Trevor’s later work and I associated him with poignant tales of thwarted love in rural Ireland, but this book showed me that his early work was very different (this was his debut novel): it was set in London and darkly comic. I have since read several more of his earlier novels and hope to work my way through his massive backlist. All my reviews of his work are here.

So, there you have it. These are the most influential books I’ve read in the past 16 years. I’m conscious of the fact that this is a very male-dominated list. But I’m sure that if I compiled this list tomorrow, the books here would probably be different. For now, this will have to do.

Have you read any of this list? Or care to share your own influential reads?

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33 thoughts on “16 books for 16 years of blogging”

Congratulations on 16 excellent years. I’m dying to say sweet 16, but I’m not that crass. I may have read one, and that not quite 3 times 16 years ago, Merry Go Round by the Sea. I still own and must re-read it.

Many congratulations, Kim! Your review on The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut, made me pick up the novel. Loved it and have read other books by Galgut as well. Absolute love The Blackwater Lightship and all novels by Toibin on Ireland. The Razors Edge by W.S. Maugham is a favourite. Hope to find and read Of Human Bondage. Still have to read Plainsong by Kent Haruf. I have only read Our Souls at Night.

Thanks so much, Danielle. Isn’t Galgut fabulous? I love his dreamlike writing and the way he explores quite dark subjects in such a nuanced subtle way. I really need to read Maugham’s Razors Edge. I read Moon & Sixpence fairly recently and liked it a lot.

Amazing achievement, Kim. Many congratulations! Great to see Damon Galgut and Maugham on your list, both the books were brilliant. Galgut particularly is a favourite author of mine. I am also glad to see McGahern. The only one I have read is Amongst Women, so this is good reminder to explore more of his work.

I remember the early years of your site very well. I found myself going there constantly for your always interesting posts. I was visiting the other top book bloggers too including Asylum and DoveGrey Reader, but yours was always my favorite.
Then I started my own blog in 2009 and haven’t been hopping around the book sites as much.
Congratulations and Thank You.

Congratulations and what an inspirational, unique list, nothing predictable here. And so great to see Plainsing here, which I’l soon to start. There are a few I have on the shelf that I may have to dust off too, like McGahern.
Bonne Continuation.